Future Continuous Tense

How to Form the Future Continuous
The structure — will be + verb-ing

The Future Continuous is formed with will be followed by the -ing form (present participle) of the main verb. The same form is used for all subjects — there is no conjugation of will.

I / You / He / She / It / We / They + will be + verb-ing

I will be working at noon.  ·  She will be sleeping when you arrive.  ·  They will be travelling all day.

Contracted form: I'll be working  ·  She'll be sleeping  ·  They'll be travelling
Forming the -ing participle

The rules for the -ing form are the same as for all continuous tenses:

Most verbs: add -ing  →  work → working  ·  travel → travelling  ·  wait → waiting
Verbs ending in silent -e: drop e, add -ing  →  drive → driving  ·  write → writing
Short CVC verbs: double the final consonant  →  sit → sitting  ·  run → running  ·  swim → swimming
Negative sentences
Subject + will not be (won't be) + verb-ing

I won't be working tomorrow.  ·  She won't be attending the meeting.  ·  They won't be staying long.
Questions
Will + subject + be + verb-ing + ?
Wh- questions: What / Where / When / Who / Why / How long + will + subject + be + verb-ing?

Will you be working late?  ·  Will she be attending the conference?  ·  What will you be doing at six?
The key idea — action in progress at a future moment

The Future Continuous places an action in progress at a specific point or period in the future. Where the Future Simple (will) says something will happen, the Future Continuous says something will be happening — it will already be in progress when the future moment arrives. Think of a camera pointed at a future moment: the Future Continuous is what it shows when it gets there.

Future Simple: She will work tomorrow. (the action will happen)
Future Continuous: She will be working at noon tomorrow. (at noon, she will already be in the middle of working)

Future Simple: He will drive to London. (the driving will happen)
Future Continuous: He will be driving all morning. (the whole morning is filled with driving)
Key signal words and phrases
at this time tomorrow at noon / at midnight when you arrive all day / all morning this time next week while throughout still over the next few weeks

Future Continuous Exercises

The Future Continuous is used in four main situations. Each exercise page below focuses on one use, with a full explanation and five exercise sets.

Level

A1
A2
B1
B1+
B2
C1

Quick tip

The Future Continuous shows an action in progress at a future moment. Ask: will the action already be happening when that moment arrives? If yes → Future Continuous. "At noon, I will be eating lunch."